Post by amelia on Feb 14, 2013 13:31:39 GMT -5

I think hormones have a significant effect on what we perceive about the world around us, how we process it and what we consider important enough to act on.

The effect manifests itself early -- in some cases physically such as when different pathways are used in the brain for accomplishing some of the same tasks -- and behavior continues to be able to be influenced by changes in hormones.

I don't pay as much attention to it as I used to so I can't remember the kinds of anecdotes and research articles I once would have been familiar with. But it's been enough to change me from someone who long maintained that most differences were cultural to my position now which is that there are significant natural differences due to gender beyond the obvious cosmetic and plumbing differences.

Post by meister on Feb 14, 2013 13:32:57 GMT -5

Are men and women really that different? Are the differences biological or cultural?

What do you think?

Yes, men and women are much different, and goes waaay back to primal times, Kitty.Back in the day women were the gatherers, and men were the hunters. Men were the warriors.I think it's broken down to estrogen and testosterone in the brain.Chicks are wired much different than men are, because of these hormones.Women can process situations quickly while it takes up to 6 hours for a man to see the entire picture.Take away all the xboxes and you have boys playing with toy guns, wrestling with one another, exploring.Do the same with girls they have the dolls, playing house and such....It's instinctive.

Now the culture of today is changing things up, but it's not instinctive...it's more indoctrinated.Not sure if it's a good thing, but it is what it is.

A good read on this subject is a book called, Wild At Heart, by John Eldredge

Post by shadizar on Feb 14, 2013 15:55:55 GMT -5

Are men and women really that different? Are the differences biological or cultural?

What do you think?

Humans, as a species, have been evolving for the better part of five million years. Our brains being the most expensive and most important piece of equipment in our body; it would be naive to the extreme to assume the fe/male brain didn't diverge to accommodate our needs. In the last two million years, there have been about a dozen different species of human, many living in proximity of each other. The key point to understand here, is that we survived while the others went extinct; they are not part of our line, much like bonobos are not part of our line. We had bigger brains, larger family units, and a gendered "culture"; and it's that gendered concept, which has saved us several times over (that and females which go into heat every four weeks rather than four years).

A point of caveat; unlike what most women think, gender is NOT tied directly to sex, but sex makes up a large influence in how the brain operates. There are women who are men, and there are men who are women; biological chemistry is not rocket science, it's a blind deaf and dumb bartender handing you what he thinks is a beer; ok, he got it from the beer fridge, but sometimes it's a cooler, and sometimes it's a tonic water, but he gets it right about 80% of the time, maybe not the right brand, but we're not going to fire him just yet, because he's the best we got at present.

You can not teach a women to think like a man, if she doesn't already do so, she's not going to. Likewise with men in the vise verse.

Trapped on this mud ball, surrounded by shaved apes who claim sentience while existing on base instincts dolled up in phrases like "trust your gut" and "follow your heart". Seriously, you're all just fucking animals fucking each other over over rocks and sticks which somebody calls money. And seeing this, somehow makes me the stupid asshole.

Post by eagleseven on Feb 14, 2013 16:07:07 GMT -5

I work with more women than men...and everyone openly acknowledges the differences. Both biological and cultural.

You can see it most acutely, I find, in how the genders approach conflict. Men tend towards immediate confrontation, direct displays of force, and should it come to it, finality of action (whether it's a fistfight, a knife-in-the-back, a stolen lover, or a pink slip). If two men are in conflict, everyone knows it, and knows to avoid the crossfire.

Most women, in contrast, avoid direct confrontation and open conflict. Instead, they are prone to starting vendettas, holding grudges forever, and slowly working against their enemies in the background. I know women who, instead of maneuvering to fire the target of their hatred, intentionally schedule their enemies for the most-stressful positions available for *years*. Or will quietly slander their name to *everyone* for years, sabotaging said rival's ability to find work or lovers anywhere in the city. Slowly working to sever all of their victim's relationships.

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I have many examples in the ER. When I have a conflict with a male nurse...we basically get into eachother's faces and threaten to report the issue to ever-higher levels of authority until one backs down. Female nurses quickly leave and give in to my demands, at most trying to call my supervisor instead (who has my back).

When one of my less-manly female co-workers works that same ER position? Look out! The male nurses bully them into submission, to the point that they have to call our supervisor for backup. The female nurses bring out the knives...writing people up for false accusations, slandering the integrity of my co-worker to supervisors, convincing all the nurses on the floor to pile-on said co-worker, and do everything in their power to make the co-workers job much more difficult.

Post by Nice Kitty on Feb 14, 2013 17:21:48 GMT -5

I work with more women than men...and everyone openly acknowledges the differences. Both biological and cultural.

You can see it most acutely, I find, in how the genders approach conflict. Men tend towards immediate confrontation, direct displays of force, and should it come to it, finality of action (whether it's a fistfight, a knife-in-the-back, a stolen lover, or a pink slip). If two men are in conflict, everyone knows it, and knows to avoid the crossfire.

Most women, in contrast, avoid direct confrontation and open conflict. Instead, they are prone to starting vendettas, holding grudges forever, and slowly working against their enemies in the background. I know women who, instead of maneuvering to fire the target of their hatred, intentionally schedule their enemies for the most-stressful positions available for *years*. Or will quietly slander their name to *everyone* for years, sabotaging said rival's ability to find work or lovers anywhere in the city. Slowly working to sever all of their victim's relationships.

Here's something kind of crazy. My husband is a pretty masculine guy: 6'2, 200 pounds, muscular, hairy, military officer, good with power tools. And I'm small and blond and petite.

But I'm much more direct about initiating conflict, and my husband is much more indirect. Neither of us are passive aggressive bitches, though. That's something that people do when they don't have any real power, and both men and women are prone to it.

Post by eagleseven on Feb 14, 2013 17:29:28 GMT -5

I work with more women than men...and everyone openly acknowledges the differences. Both biological and cultural.

You can see it most acutely, I find, in how the genders approach conflict. Men tend towards immediate confrontation, direct displays of force, and should it come to it, finality of action (whether it's a fistfight, a knife-in-the-back, a stolen lover, or a pink slip). If two men are in conflict, everyone knows it, and knows to avoid the crossfire.

Most women, in contrast, avoid direct confrontation and open conflict. Instead, they are prone to starting vendettas, holding grudges forever, and slowly working against their enemies in the background. I know women who, instead of maneuvering to fire the target of their hatred, intentionally schedule their enemies for the most-stressful positions available for *years*. Or will quietly slander their name to *everyone* for years, sabotaging said rival's ability to find work or lovers anywhere in the city. Slowly working to sever all of their victim's relationships.

Here's something kind of crazy. My husband is a pretty masculine guy: 6'2, 200 pounds, muscular, hairy, military officer, good with power tools. And I'm small and blond and petite.

But I'm much more direct about initiating conflict, and my husband is much more indirect. Neither of us are passive aggressive bitches, though. That's something that people do when they don't have any real power, and both men and women are prone to it.

I work with a bearded gay guy who can out-bitch the cattiest ER nurse. I also work with a buzz-cut firebrand of a woman who has called an ER nurse "a stupid bitch" to her face, yelling down the ER hall.

Post by Nice Kitty on Feb 14, 2013 17:47:28 GMT -5

In all fairness, when I started working with men, it was equally hard. I hadn't been raised to be assertive, and it took me a while to learn to hold my own with them. Then they infected me with their testosterone, and i wanted to be the alpha.

Post by eagleseven on Feb 14, 2013 18:05:34 GMT -5

My parents were (and remain) very aggressive individuals. So I have no difficulty in asserting dominance and dealing with aggressive individuals. But I'm still learning to use the velvet glove office politics demands.

It is a melancholy reflection that liberty should be equally exposed to danger whether the Government have too much or too little power, and that the line which divides these extremes should be so inaccurately defined by experience.
-- James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, October 17, 1788.

Post by kikicannoli on Feb 16, 2013 11:08:08 GMT -5

I would agree with most of the posts here and would add that in my experience, regardless of gender, people who exercise vs people aren't active on some level presents a commonality across the sexes. Both men and women I've worked with who are physically active *not tri athletes but move* tend to be less stressed and emotional and more focused.

Those who were prone to couch sitting were snippy, intolerant and had more time to create neurotic scenarios about their adversaries.

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